Everence Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Everence Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,310 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,750 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95,813.8% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,045,643 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,028,807,000 after buying an additional 4,041,425 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $697,398,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $461,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263,391 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 262.0% in the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 847,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,091,000 after purchasing an additional 613,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $231.01 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $287.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $66.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $240.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.72.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.